Stanchion support

ABSTRACT

A sliding pivot for a support element used with a stanchion which is hinged to the item with which it is used and from which it can be unfolded, wherein one end of the support element is rigidly attached to the stanchion and the opposite end is provided with a substantially transverse portion extending therefrom, comprises a slide, a sleeve provided with a slide pin extending in substantially the same plane as the sleeve, and a socket substantially parallel with the transverse portion, wherein the sleeve is located on the transverse portion, the pin is located in the slide, the sleeve being adapted to rotate about the transverse portion, and the pin to rotate in the slide, the pin moving along the slide when the stanchion is rotated about its hinge, the socket being adapted to receive the transverse portion when the stanchion is in a fully unfolded position.

This application is the U.S. National Phase of PCT Application NumberPCT/GB2003/003064, filed on 15 Jul. 2003, which claims priority to GreatBritain Application Number 0217385.4, filed 26 Jul. 2002.

This invention relates to a support means for a stanchion, which isparticularly, but not exclusively in the form of a table leg.

Collapsible legs for use with folding tables and chairs and the like arewell known. The upper ends of the legs can be attached in a hingedarrangement to the underside of the body of the item of furniture, sothat they can be folded up underneath the body for storage. There aremany known types of folding mechanisms which utilise a variation ofdesigns.

The chief aims of any folding mechanism are twofold. Firstly, themechanism must be able to adequately support the leg when it isextended, so that the table or other article, will not collapse duringuse. Secondly, the mechanism must facilitate ease of use, so that theleg can be readily extended and collapsed.

One design which has proved successful comprises a pair of legsconstructed from a single U-shaped component, in which the transverseinterconnecting section is attached in a hinged arrangement to theunderside of the table. The legs are provided with a support elementwhich is substantially similar in size and shape to the legs component,and which is disposed alongside the legs. The two components are rigidlyattached together at their outer ends in such a way that the twoadjacent transverse interconnecting sections are resiliently biasedtogether, but can be pulled apart.

When the legs are unfolded the interconnecting section of the supportelement is pulled away from the legs and placed in sockets provided onthe underside of the table. With this arrangement the biasing togetherof the components holds the support element in the sockets. When thetable needs to be folded up for storage, the support element can beremoved from the sockets by hand, and the two components can be foldedflat against the underside of the table top.

The present invention is intended to provide an improved version of theabove mechanism.

According to the present invention a sliding pivot means for a supportelement which is used with a stanchion which is hinged to the item withwhich it is used and from which it can be unfolded, in which one end ofthe support element is rigidly attached to the stanchion and theopposite end is provided with a substantially transverse portionextending therefrom, comprises a slide, a sleeve provided with a slidepin extending in substantially the same plane as the sleeve, and asocket substantially parallel with said transverse portion, and in whichthe sleeve is located on the transverse portion, and the pin is locatedin the slide, the sleeve being adapted to rotate about the transverseportion, and the pin to rotate in the slide, the pin moving along theslide when the stanchion is rotated about its hinge, and the socketbeing adapted to receive the transverse portion when the stanchion is ina fully unfolded position.

Preferably the slide is curved to follow the path of the transverseportion of the support element as the stanchion is rotated about itshinge.

In one construction the socket is provided in between the underside ofthe item and the slide. With this arrangement the slid pin reaches theend of the slide, and the transverse portion and the sleeve rotatearound the end of the slide, and into the socket.

In a preferred embodiment the item is an item of furniture. Thefurniture can be a table, and the stanchion can be a table leg. Further,the table leg can be part of a U-shaped two-leg component, thetransverse interconnecting portion of which is hinged to the undersideof the table. The support element can be substantially the same shape,and can be disposed along side the legs. The two components can be fixedtogether at their outer ends, in such a way that the two interconnectingportions are resiliently biased together, but can be pulled apart.

The legs and the support element can be tubular in shape, and can beconstructed from any suitable material, for example wood or metal, forexample steel.

The invention also includes an item provided with a sliding pivot meansfor a support element to be used with a stanchion which is hinged to theitem, as described above.

The invention can be performed in various ways, but one embodiment willnow be described by way of example and with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sliding pivot means for a supportelement according to the present invention; and,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sliding pivot means as shown in FIG.1, in a different configuration.

As shown in FIG. 1 a table 1 is provided with a cylindrical leg 2 whichis hinged to a table support spar 3 by means of a circular aperture 4.The leg 2 is provided with a support element 5, the outer end of which 5a is rigidly attached to the outer end of the leg 2 a (as shown in FIG.2), so that there is a V shaped configuration between the leg 2 and theelement 5. The inner end 6 of the element 5 is provided with asubstantially transverse portion 7 extending therefrom.

The support element 5 is provided with a sliding pivot 8 comprising aslide 9, a sleeve 10 provided with a slide pin 11 extending in the sameplane as the sleeve 10 and a socket 12. The sleeve 10 is disposed aroundthe transverse portion 7, and the pin 11 is disposed in the slide 9. Thesleeve 10 can rotate about the transverse portion 7, and the pin 11 canrotate on its own axis in the slide 9.

The pin 11 is adapted to move along the slide 9 when the leg 2 isrotated about its hinge 4, and the socket 12 is adapted to receive thetransverse portion 7 when the leg 2 is in the fully unfolded position.

The leg 2 and the support element 5 are parts of substantially U-shapedleg pair and support element components. An opposite sliding pivotarrangement is provided at the opposite edge of the table 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 the leg 2 is in the folded position, disposedadjacent to the underside 13 of the table 1. The pin 11 is disposed atthe inner end 14 of the slide 9, and the pin 11 is in a rotationalposition to allow the sleeve 10 and the transverse portion 7 within itto be disposed adjacent to the transverse portion 15 of the leg 2.

As shown in FIG. 2 the leg 2 is in the unfolded position. The pin 11 hasbeen moved through the slide 9, and the pin 11 and the sleeve 10 havebeen rotated in a clockwise direction, to allow the transverse portion 7to be disposed within the socket 12. The transverse portion 7 has beenpulled apart from the leg 2 to allow it to be moved about the end 16 ofthe slide 9. The inner ends of the leg 2 and the support element 5 areresiliently biased together due to their outer ends 2 a and 5 a beingrigidly attached together. As a result the transverse portion 7 is heldin the socket 12 and the leg 2 is safely held in position.

To restore the leg 2 to the folded position the transverse portion 7must be pulled from the socket 12 by hand, and the pin 11 must be movedand rotated back through the slide 9, in a reverse of the processdescribed above.

Thus a table provided with a U-shaped legs component and a supportelement which is substantially similar in size and shape and in whichthe outer ends of the legs and the support elements are fixed together,is provided with a novel folding and supporting system which adequatelysupports the leg, and can be readily used.

The system is also provided with a small number of simple moving partswhich are easy to construct. Further, the transverse portions of thelegs and the support elements cannot be pulled too far apart due to thesupport element being held in a slide. This increases the lifespan ofthe leg.

1. A sliding pivot means comprising: a support element used with astanchion which is hinged to an item with which it is used and fromwhich it can be unfolded, in which one end of the support element isrigidly attached to the stanchion and the opposite end is provided witha substantially transverse portion extending therefrom, a slide, asleeve provided with a slide pin extending in substantially the sameplane as the sleeve, and a socket substantially parallel with saidtransverse portion, and in which the sleeve is located on the transverseportion, and the pin is located in the slide, the sleeve being adaptedto rotate about the transverse portion, and the pin to rotate in theslide, the pin moving along the slide when the stanchion is rotatedabout its hinge, and the socket being adapted to receive the transverseportion when the stanchion is in a fully unfolded position.
 2. A slidingpivot means as claimed in claim 1 in which the slide is arcuate inshape, and in which the arcuate shape is substantially parallel with thearc defined by the movement of the transverse portion when the stanchionis rotated about its hinge.
 3. A sliding pivot means as claimed in claim2 in which the socket is provided between the item and the slide, and inwhich the stanchion and the support are sufficiently resilient to allowtheir unattached ends to be sufficiently separated to allow thetransverse portion to travel around the end of the slide and access thesocket when the pin is disposed at the end of the slide.
 4. A slidingpivot means as claimed in claim 3 in which the stanchion and the supportare sufficiently resilient to hold the transverse portion in positionwhen it is disposed in the socket.
 5. A sliding pivot means as claimedin claim 4 in which the item is a table, and the stanchion is a tableleg.
 6. A sliding pivot means as claimed in claim 1 in which the item isa table, and the stanchion is a table leg.
 7. An item to which astanchion is hinged and can be unfolded, comprising a support elementand sliding pivot means, in which one end of the support element isrigidly attached to the stanchion and the opposite end is provided witha substantially transverse portion extending therefrom, and in which thesliding pivot means comprises a slide, a sleeve provided with a slidepin extending in substantially the same plane as the sleeve, and asocket substantially parallel with said transverse portion, and in whichthe sleeve is located on the transverse portion, and the pin is locatedin the slide, the sleeve being adapted to rotate about the transverseportion, and the pin to rotate in the slide, the pin moving along theslide when the stanchion is rotated about its hinge, and the socketbeing adapted to receive the transverse portion when the stanchion is ina fully unfolded position.
 8. A table to which a leg is hinged and canbe unfolded comprising a support element and sliding pivot means, inwhich one end of the support element is rigidly attached to a stanchionand the opposite end is provided with a substantially transverse portionextending therefrom, and in which the sliding pivot means comprises aslide, a sleeve provided with a slide pin extending in substantially thesame plane as the sleeve, and a socket substantially parallel with saidtransverse portion, and in which the sleeve is located on the transverseportion, and the pin is located in the slide, the sleeve being adaptedto rotate about the transverse portion, and the pin to rotate in theslide, the pin moving along the slide when the stanchion is rotatedabout its hinge, and the socket being adapted to receive the transverseportion when the stanchion is in a fully unfolded position.
 9. A tableas claimed in claim 8 in which four legs are hinged and can be unfolded,and in which a support element and sliding pivot means are provided foreach leg.
 10. A table as claimed in claim 9 in which the four legs arecomprised of two substantially U-shaped leg members, the interconnectingportions of which are hinged to the underside of the table.
 11. A tableas claimed in claim 10 in which the four support elements are comprisedof two substantially U-shaped support members, the interconnectingportions of which comprise the transverse portions, and in which thesupport members are substantially the same shape and size as theU-shaped leg members, and in which the leg members and support membersare rigidly connected at their two outer ends.
 12. A furniture legapparatus comprising a leg, a support element disposed substantiallyparallel to the leg, and a socket, in which the leg is attached to anitem of furniture in a hinged arrangement, in use, in which an outer endof the support element is attached to the leg such that an inner end ofthe support element is biased towards the leg, in which the inner end ofthe support element has a substantially transverse portion extendingtherefrom, in which the socket faces away from the leg, and in which thetransverse portion is spaced from the leg and contained in the socketwhen the leg is unfolded, in use, characterized in that the transverseportion is provided with guide means comprising a sleeve rotatablymounted on the transverse portion and a slide pin extending from thesleeve, and in which the furniture leg apparatus further comprises aslide in which the slide pin is located, and along which it moves whenthe leg is rotated, in use.
 13. The furniture leg apparatus of claim 12wherein the slide is arcuate in shape, and wherein the arcuate shape issubstantially parallel with an arc defined by the movement of thetransverse portion when the leg is rotated about its hinge.
 14. Thefurniture leg apparatus of claim 13 wherein the socket is providedbetween the item of furniture and the slide, and wherein the leg and thesupport element are sufficiently resilient to allow their unattachedends to be sufficiently separated to allow the transverse portion totravel around the end of the slide and access the socket when the pin isdisposed at the end of the slide.
 15. The furniture leg apparatus ofclaim 14 wherein the leg and the support element are sufficientlyresilient to hold the transverse portion in position in the socket, inuse.
 16. The furniture leg apparatus of claim 12 wherein the leg is atable leg.
 17. The furniture leg apparatus of claim 16 wherein the legis part of a U-shaped two-leg component, the transverse interconnectingportion of which is hinged to the underside of the table.
 18. Thefurniture leg apparatus of claim 17 wherein the support element is partof a U-shaped two-support element component which is substantially thesame shape as the U-shaped two-leg component and is disposedsubstantially parallel to the U-shaped two-leg component, and whereinthe U-shaped two-leg component and the U-shaped two-support elementcomponent are fixed together at their outer ends, such that thetransverse interconnecting portions of the U-shaped two-leg componentand the U-shaped two-support element component are biased together, butcan be pulled apart by hand, in use.
 19. An item of furniture providedwith at least one furniture leg apparatus comprising a leg, a supportelement disposed substantially parallel to the leg, and a socket, inwhich the leg is attached to said item of furniture in a hingedarrangement, in which an outer end of the support element is attached tothe leg such that an inner end of the support element is biased towardsthe leg, in which the inner end of the support element has asubstantially transverse portion extending therefrom, in which thesocket faces away from the leg, and in which the transverse portion isspaced from the leg and contained in the socket when the leg isunfolded, in use, characterized in that the transverse portion isprovided with guide means comprising a sleeve rotatably mounted on thetransverse portion, a slide pin extending from the sleeve, and a slidein which the slide pin is located, and along which it moves when the legis rotated, in use.
 20. The item of furniture of claim 19 wherein theitem of furniture is a table.
 21. The item of furniture of claim 20wherein the table is provided with four legs, in which the four legscomprise two U-shaped two-leg components, the transverse interconnectingportions of which are hinged to the underside of the table, and in whichthe four support elements comprise two U-shaped two-support elementcomponents substantially the same shape as the U-shaped two-legcomponents and disposed substantially parallel to the U-shaped two-legcomponents, and in which the U-shaped two-leg component and the U-shapedtwo-support element components are fixed together at their outer ends,such that the transverse interconnecting portions of the U-shapedtwo-leg components and the U-shaped support element components arebiased together, but can be pulled apart by hand, in use.